Oxon Hill, Maryland — Former President Donald Trump believes that Iran likely poses a greater threat to the United States than China.
Trump, who is seeking a return to the White House in 2024, gaggled with a group of reporters ahead of his keynote speech at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Coalition conference outside of Washington D.C.
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The former president specifically discussed how the U.S., given its fraying relationship with China and the ongoing war in Ukraine, “is in the most dangerous position it’s ever been,” with a potential “third World War” on the horizon.
Pressed by the Washington Examiner on whether he believes China would be the chief opponent in such a war, Trump said he was “not necessarily sure,” adding that “some rogue nations out there” present “problems that are maybe even bigger than China.”
“A lot of people think so — I’m not necessarily sure,” Trump stated. “I always had a very good relationship with China and made great trade deals with China and farmers benefited very much by the deals.”
The former president, citing recent reports, claimed that Iran could develop “a brand, spanking new nuclear weapon.”
“China is a country that doesn’t want to get blown up. Some people don’t care if they’re blown up. They’re fanatics,” he continued. “Now [Iran is] going to have a nuclear weapon. So when you say is China more dangerous than that? I doubt it.”
“When I left, they were dying to make a deal because we had them in a position where they almost had to make a deal. We would have made a deal. It would have been a great deal for everybody including them,” the former president added of Iran.
Earlier in the gaggle, Trump spoke at length about the threat nuclear weapons pose to the U.S.
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“Nuclear weapons are devastating, and the term nuclear and nuclear weapons being mentioned all the time now, should never be mentioned. It’s a word that you’ll never be allowed to be mentioned, but it’s being mentioned all the time,” he claimed. “I believe we’re in the most dangerous position we have ever been in as a country, and I think the world is in the most dangerous position. I have to say, with all of that, it’s all in leadership.”
